In many ways, pediatricians do know more than parents. When your doctor says your newborn needs to ride in a rear-facing car seat, don't argue. When he says your 2-month-old with a 105-degree fever needs to get to the doctor's office -- and fast -- you'd better listen.

But there are far more areas that are gray and have no science, or not very good science, to back them up, says our panel of pediatric experts. They say that sometimes, this means your pediatrician is giving you his or her opinion, not medical fact.

The article goes on to list five situations in which parents can trust their gut rather than blindly obeying the doctor. It's a good starting point for consideration, but the list is far from comprehensive.

We've had several experiences like this, and each time it paid to follow our instincts -- particularly when it came to getting Belle to give up the bottle and pacifiers. Our efforts, which came on the advice of our doctor, were met with resistance, so we backed off. She eventually gave them up in her own time. Now we're getting a little better at trusting our instincts.